THE NUMBER ONE JAM OF THE YEAR DOESN'T DISAPPOINT

How is it possible that with so few people actually making the effort to come to this years York Jam so many flatlanders still managed to show up to ride?  Well, the answer is simple and filled by one word:  York.  Every year this jam manages to pull in upwards of fifty flatlanders from all over the world to ride in a dusty parking lot that featured several areas covered with broken glass.  Brooms in hand and a good attitude with a lot of sweeping and the riders were all set to go.  Sure, the lot sucks, but really, it's not any worse than most contest areas that are provided for flatlanders.  Most of all, it's a huge lot and despite being somewhat... ummm... 'unofficial' the police don't hassle us.

So, what was your excuse for not showing up?  Hopefully it is "Dude, what are you talking about?  I was there!" but just in case it isn't, you will want to check out and refer people throughout the year to www.bmxtrix.com/yorkjam for updates as to when the 2004 jam will be.  This year though we saw some familiar faces as well as some new ones.

It's not worth writing up a story about who was there and what went down.  The only thing to talk about is how good the vibe was throughout the day.  It was hot, the middle of July and when we rolled into the parking lot around noon or so there were about 75 guys covering the parking lot. Turnout seemed lower than last years, but planning was not as exact as last years jam either.  With riders all over the place we snaked our way through the lot to a somewhat shaded parking space and pulled the bike out for a day of riding.  No, the video camera was to stay in the car for most of the day so the focus could be on the riding only.

It's something special when you run into about 30 people you consider friends and by the end of the weekend there were a few more people added to the list that I look forward to seeing next year.  Next year, it should be pointed out, will be the 20th Anniversary York Jam and the guys in York may try to have a more legitimate location for the Jam and try to get information into the magazines in early Summer so all the riders can make travel arrangements to attend.  Full info will always be up on this site to keep everyone up to date.

As the day settled into night some people got into their cars and headed off to restaurants and hotels or headed back home, but those that hung out were treated to what many were calling the next day, the best part of the jam.  BMXTRIX had brought along a ten foot screen and a video projector and about 50 or so remaining riders hung out to watch the preview of the upcoming BMXTRIX Horizons video as well as a Bobby Carter's newest installment of the Diversion videos (get a copy at FlatlandFuel).  While BMXTRIX was familiar with all the stuff showing in Horizons, we had never laid our eyes on Diversion.  Bobby Carter does an incredible job with cameras and editing to put together something really fun to watch with some interesting short interludes.  Most of all, the finale with Terry Adams simply kicks ass.

About halfway through the video showing a police officer on a motorcycle rolled into the lot.  Try to picture about fifty people sitting around on the ground with lots of BMX bikes around them in this huge parking lot and a screen with a BMX video going on and music blaring out of a sound system (thanks to Mark Eaton for that!).  I'm not sure what was going through the cops head, but my guess would be that he was saying something like "What the fuck?".  The officer sat there for a while, saw that nothing dangerous or harmful seemed to be going on and after sitting downwind for a while he didn't smell any weed in the air.  The cop took off without interrupting anything at all and we were free to watch to the end of the videos in peace.

Props and thanks to all those who attended and most of all to Mark Eaton, Brett Downs, and Kevin Jones for making the city of York a trip that every flatlander in the world should take at least once in their lives.

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!